Rick & Morty: Every Time Jerry Betrayed The Smith Family

In Rick and Morty, the Smith family is constantly betraying and double-crossing each other, but few think of the patriarch, Jerry, as one of the worst offenders. Whether it is due to anger and frustration, or sheer stupidity and naivete, Jerry has had a hand in some of the awful things that have happened to his family. He is often cowardly and overwhelmed by the high-concept sci-fi adventures throughout the show.

Most of Jerry’s backstabbing has been directed at his father-in-law, Rick, who he feels intellectually threatened by and insecure around. However, Jerry’s actions in Rick and Morty have also betrayed other members of the Smith family over the years, often because of rash (and hilariously justified) decisions. Here’s every time Jerry betrays the rest of the Smith family in Rick and Morty.

RELATED: Every Horror Movie Parody In Rick and Morty

Jerry Thinks Pluto Is A Planet (Season 1, Episode 9)

Jerry, in Rick and Morty season 1, episode 9, is helping Morty with a model of the solar system for school when they break into an argument. Jerry believes Pluto is a planet, while Morty understands it is not. Jerry is too insecure about his intelligence to cede his point.

The father and son end up traveling to Pluto, where they meet the Plutonians, whose planet is shrinking because of the greed of mining corporations, which is why it was declassified as a planet. Jerry initially sticks to his guns, willing to throw his own son under the bus and embarrass him. However, eventually, Jerry feels bad for betraying his son. He concedes that Pluto is not a planet, much to the dismay of the Plutonians, and reconciles with Morty.

Jerry Wants To Kill Rick & Replace Him With Doofus Rick (Season 1, Episode 10)

In season 1, episode 10, “Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind,” Jerry forms a bond with “Doofus Rick.” Rick is falsely accused of killing other Ricks across the multiverse, and while Rick is away proving his innocence, Jerry meets Doofus Rick. Jerry makes it clear that he prefers him to his Rick. He even expresses his desire to kill Rick and replace him with Doofus Rick, saying, “We could maybe… you know… get rid of him? I’m not saying kill him, necessarily, I’m also not saying necessarily not kill him…” Later, after Rick proves his innocence and returns home, he berates Jerry for being friends with Doofus Rick.

Jerry Wants To Turn Rick In (Season 2, Episode 10)

In season 2, episode 10, the Galactic Federation has caught up to rick for his crimes, and the Smith family is on the run. While exploring the planet on which they’re hiding, Rick overhears Beth, Summer, and Morty defending Rick as Jerry tries to convince them to turn Rick into the Galactic Federation so that they can return to their normal life. Jerry exclaims: “This world sucks! Our life sucks! Why are we doing this for someone that would never do anything for anyone but himself?”

Related: Rick & Morty’s Birdperson Twist Makes Phoenixperson Way More Tragic

After overhearing this, Rick feels bad and turns himself in, but he still has plans for revenge on Jerry. In the Rick and Morty season 3 premiere, Rick escapes from prison and manipulates Beth into asking Jerry for a divorce, yelling, “He threatened to turn me into the government, so I made him and the government go away.“

Jerry Tries To Kill Rick On The Whirly Dirly (Season 3, Episode 5)

As a favor to Morty, Rick takes Jerry to a resort on a planet with an immortality field around it in season 3, episode 5, making it impossible to die. Jerry is pulled aside by an alien enemy of Rick, Risotto Grupon, who informs Jerry of a break in the immortality field on the rollercoaster, the Whirly Dirly. Jerry, furious at Rick for destroying his marriage and his life, agrees to contribute to an assassination plot on Rick. Jerry takes Rick to the Whirly Dirly, but Rick fights off the attackers. Afterward, Rick realizes Jerry is involved in the plot and punishes him by using him as bait for the alien monster they ride to safety.

Jerry’s Mind Blowers (Season 3, Episode 8)

Rick and Morty season 3, episode 8, is a clip show of memories Morty has asked Rick to remove from his brain. The episode doesn’t feature Jerry until the after-credits scene in which the Smith family attempts to save an alien named Gobo, E.T. style. However, because of a mistake on Jerry’s part, Gobo never makes it to safety and instead dies in Jerry’s car because he forgot to take him to the hill where he would be rescued. Jerry’s mistake in “Morty’s Mind Blowers” betrayed all the hard work put in by his family to rescue the alien.

Jerry & Kiara, His Alien Girlfriend (Season 3, Episode 9)

Jerry begins dating an alien named Kiara in season 3, episode 9, and the relationship starts progressing too fast as they form a soul bond with each other. However, Jerry quickly realizes that their interest does not align, and he does not want to be with her anymore. When he tries to break up with her, he blames Summer and Morty, his children, for being racist toward her people, which is not true. This infuriates Kiara, and she comes after Summer and Morty, forcing Jerry to tell her the truth about why he wants to break up.

Related: The Simpsons Mocks Family Guy, Rick & Morty AND South Park In 1 Episode

Jerry Develops An App (Season 4, Episode 2)

Rick has hired a new assistant, Glootie, in season 4, episode 2, “The Old Man and the Seat,” who has the words “DO NOT DEVELOP MY APP” tattooed onto his forward. Jerry, thinking he knows better than Rick, decides to develop an app with him anyway. Much to Morty’s dismay, he exclaims that Rick put that tattoo there “to keep something horrible from happening, something he’s too lazy to explain.”

Morty is proved correct when the app ends up being a dating app that puts people in a zombie-like state, constantly looking for true love. This forces Morty and Jerry to visit Glootie’s home planet and ask them to take the app down. Jerry finally convinces Glootie to put an ad wall on the app, which leads all of its users to delete it.

Jerry Uses The Wrong Remote (Season 4, Episode 8)

In Rick and Morty ​​​​​​season 4, episode 8, “The Vat of Acid Episode,” Morty begs Rick to make him a remote that allows him to save his place and go back to it like in a video game. Rick finally gives in, and Morty goes about committing various acts with no repercussions by going back to a spot in time he had previously saved.

In the midst of this, Morty meets a girl with whom he falls in love. Time goes by without Morty ever using the remote as the two fall deeper in love with each other, even surviving being stranded on the side of a mountain after a plane crash. However, Jerry, thinking it is the TV remote, activates the remote, sending Morty back in time to before his relationship began. Though an accident, Jerry’s actions still ruined the best relationship Morty has ever had.

Related: Rick And Morty Season 6 Completely Flips Morty’s Season 5 Ending

Cronenberg Jerry Abandons Morty (Season 6, Episode 1)

In the Rick and Morty Season 6 premiere, the Cronenberg monsters return as Morty gets sent back to his original universe. There he finds Cronenberg Jerry, who reveals that Beth and Summer have died in this universe. Morty is waiting for Rick to rescue him and is hoping to stay with his original father while he waits. However, Jerry abandons him and steals his stuff, only leaving two short notes. Although this is not the Jerry we have seen in the last few seasons of Rick and Morty, this is still an example of a Jerry betraying a Morty. At the end of the episode, Cronenberg Jerry is killed by Rick Prime.

NEXT: Rick & Morty: Why Rick Didn’t Choose A Dimension Where His Wife Was Alive